Obama Inauguration Preview: Mood on the Mall

WASHINGTON - District of Columbia, January 19 - While cold weather kept a slight chill in the air, the mood on the National Mall was far from chilly. Residents and visitors hobnobbed and the mood was like a big New Year's celebration. Plenty of smiles and people in good spirits, excited to be a part of history and to come together on this momentous occasion.

As a resident of Washington, D.C., perhaps I'm a little jaded, a little wary of having to battle the cold, crowds and potentially my own bladder. So when the sun came out this afternoon, my husband and I trekked to the National Mall to at least preview the inaugural crowds, check out the festivities and mood of the millions of visitors expected to pack the city we call home.

Obama's Economic Stimulus Plan

Already Obama is stimulating the economy. Business for souvenir vendors was brisk on the Mall. I heard one t-shirt guy yell to another seller, "we should have been out here earlier, I had 3 dozen t-shirts and they got snapped up in 30 minutes".

Anyone with a color printer and a little entrepreneurial chutzpah was out hawking Obama stuff. Everywhere you turned there were tables set up every couple of feet, garbage bags stashed with t-shirts, impromptu piles of calendars, cardboard Obama cut-outs costing $5 to get your picture taken, souvenir buttons and Obama souvenir postcards 2 for $1. We even scored one of the free souvenir items -- an "Arrest Bush" protest postcard urging people to sign a petition at www.convictbushcheney.org.

One of the more popular items was a reusable recycling shopping bag with a picture of the Obama family to stash all your Obama souvenir goodies. Hand warmers were doing brisk business. But I think there's a business to be had tomorrow, selling packs of kleenex or rolls of toilet paper.

Obama Visitors Brace For the Cold in Fur And Fun

Obama supporters favored high fashion furs over being politically correct, with coats trimmed in fur, fur hats and full length coats that looked festive and warm. It gave the Mall the air of a formal affair with ladies dressed as if they were going to an evening at the opera or symphony. On the opposite end of the spectrum, goofy hats kept heads warm with tall Abe Lincoln type hats with cat in the hat red and white striped designs. Plenty of Obama emblazoned ski hats could be spotted around. Plus a lady in a red/white/blue feather boa lent a patriotic festive touch.

Out of Town Visitors Skated & Strolled On the Mall

The skating rink in front of the National Archives was packed with people waiting in line to enjoy Washington's equivalent of the skating rink at Rockefeller Center in New York. Most people were just strolling the mall, checking out the lay of the land to figure out where they were going to stand for the inauguration and parade. Many people were clustered around the MSNBC broadcast booth. Great cheers would go up anytime the crowd thought they were on camera.

Checked Out the Facilities

As reported there are lots of porta-potties. My husband, an architect liked the way someone had taken the time to at least neatly line up the porta-potties on axis to the street leading up to the Navy Memorial. So that at least even with the necessity of porta-potties for the Inauguration, someone had done their best to make them look neat. Kudos to whomever set up these porta-potties by matching the colors so it wouldn't look like such a mish-mash.

What Is the Projected Attendance For the Inauguration?

President Elect Barack Obama and Mayor Fenty have urged people to stay at home and enjoy the inauguration at home. Crowd estimates range from 2 million to a surge of 5 million people. As a comparison, an average of 1 milion people ring in the New Year at Times Square. The population of D.C. is only a little over a half million. Already 400,000 people came out for Barack Obama's Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial. Here's an aerial photograph.

Good Festive Spirit, Friendly People

There was a bit of chaotic madness with all the souvenir vendors trying to sell their goods but it was not as bad as I expected. Instead it felt more like being at a flea market and some of the vendors were hilarious in creating instant on the spot "sales" or offering special deals on multiple purchases. You'd hear laughing as the dickering was going on and another lady must have scored a great bargain as she was leaning in to hug the vendor and proclaiming "bless you".

Overall, it was great fun to meet people and find out where they came from. We met people from California, Chicago, Seattle, etc. Lots of people were swapping cameras and there was a great cooperative spirit in terms of capturing the moment. As the sun was going down, I wanted to get home before it got too cold and my husband said "this is fun" taking pictures and meeting people. Maybe we'll come down for the Inauguration parade.

Pictures of People on the Mall

I put together a slide show of images from walking around the Mall.

Barack Obama Inauguration Preview: Mood on the Mall

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